Mattie Miracle Walk 2023 was a $131,249 success!

Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation Promotional Video

Thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive!

Dear Mattie Blog Readers,

It means a great deal to us that you take the time to write to us and to share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections on Mattie's battle and death. Your messages are very meaningful to us and help support us through very challenging times. To you we are forever grateful. As my readers know, I promised to write the blog for a year after Mattie's death, which would mean that I could technically stop writing on September 9, 2010. However, at the moment, I feel like our journey with grief still needs to be processed and fortunately I have a willing support network still committed to reading. Therefore, the blog continues on. If I should find the need to stop writing, I assure you I will give you advanced notice. In the mean time, thank you for reading, thank you for having the courage to share this journey with us, and most importantly thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive.


As Mattie would say, Ooga Booga (meaning, I LOVE YOU)! Vicki and Peter



The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation celebrates its 7th anniversary!

The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation was created in the honor of Mattie.

We are a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. We are dedicated to increasing childhood cancer awareness, education, advocacy, research and psychosocial support services to children, their families and medical personnel. Children and their families will be supported throughout the cancer treatment journey, to ensure access to quality psychosocial and mental health care, and to enable children to cope with cancer so they can lead happy and productive lives. Please visit the website at: www.mattiemiracle.com and take some time to explore the site.

We have only gotten this far because of people like yourself, who have supported us through thick and thin. So thank you for your continued support and caring, and remember:

.... Let's Make the Miracle Happen and Stomp Out Childhood Cancer!

A Remembrance Video of Mattie

February 16, 2016

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Tuesday, February 16, 2016 --- Mattie died 335 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2008. This was five months before Mattie was diagnosed with cancer. That weekend we took Mattie to Roosevelt Island. This was a space we went to often with Mattie. He loved walking through the woods, climbing on rocks, and also collecting branches. As you can see from this photo, Mattie was holding a huge stick he found on the Island in his right hand. Whatever sticks Mattie found, always came home with us. Mattie had a large stick collection in our commons area. But over all Mattie liked to collect things in nature... stones, acorns, pine cones, sticks, and shells. 


Quote of the day: If you are not your own doctor, you are a fool. ~ Hippocrates

Hippocrates was ABSOLUTELY correct. If you are not your own doctor and advocate, then you surely will be left in a quandary in our health care system. Since November, I have been dealing with costochondritis, which is inflammation of the ribs. It is very painful and it limits your desire to move, breathe, bend, etc. I developed this condition after having a mass removed from my breast. When I saw my doctor about this, I was put on an anti-inflammatory drug for two weeks. This drug helped but then the prescription ran out and the pain was still there. So when I went back to the doctor's office, I was given a different script for a long lasting anti-inflammatory called Voltaren. Initially when I started taking it, it upset my stomach, but then that feeling passed. Yet after the second week on the drug, I decided to call the doctor back because I was developing other symptoms such a muscle twitching in my arms and legs and compounded headaches (from the ones I already have each day). At which point my doctor's office took me off of Voltaren and re-prescribed the original drug I had been taking. 

Needless to say, I was so concerned about the symptoms, that I decided not to take any more anti-inflammatory medications. What my doctor did not tell me is that one shouldn't just stop taking Voltaren, but instead taper off of it. Since a large percentage of people get withdrawal symptoms. Mind you when I consulted my doctor's office about the symptoms I was having, they were quite certain it wasn't due to the medication. REALLY? Shocking when the data is out there!

My symptoms have been getting worse over the last two weeks. Everything from muscle twitches, numbness in my legs and hands, headaches, light headedness, dizziness, vomiting, intense anxiety, and being in a mental fog. It has been very difficult to function most days. So I started researching withdrawal symptoms from Voltaren. It is significant enough that there are support groups on-line to help people cope with the withdrawal. So why a doctor's office doesn't know about this is scary.

Several people on-line complain of the same symptoms as me, and also feel like their lives are miserable and are over. This drug seems to do a great job at playing with your emotional stability. In any case, the FDA reports that 100% of people get withdrawal symptoms if on the drug for less than a month. Research seems to show that if you are on the drug long term, then there are no withdrawal symptoms reported after stopping it. In addition, women are more likely to get withdrawal symptoms in comparison to men and my age group is the most likely ones affected. However, the withdrawal symptoms do not seem to go away in days. Some people report months! I can attest to two weeks so far and counting. I am hoping for relief soon because it truly is so debilitating it is hard to function and get anything done.  

I was reading about ways to speed up the withdrawal process and two things were mentioned: 1) hydration and 2) exercise. Because of issues with kidney stones, I have the hydration part covered but today I decided to start a walking routine. 

When I tell you it literally took me hours to get washed and dressed, I am not kidding. But now that I feel like I know what my issue is, I made a point to walk! 

When I started walking it was raining out, but slowly as I continued, it stopped and the sun came out. I walked by the Potomac River, which I find soothing to see and the seagulls
were having a ball. 







I was standing in DC, but the buildings across the way are in Roslyn, VA. Where Peter's office is located. 












The lawns were filled with robins. Which was shocking to me since yesterday it was in the 20s, freezing, and snowing. But today, it was in the 40s and raining, so all the snow was washed away. 


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